A Bother
by Dragon with a Shotgun
Summary: Crystal wants to be with her brothers, but they seem to be either too busy, or not willing to let her join them. She jumps to conclusions, and decides to do something crazy.


**TMNT**

By

Dragon with a Shotgun

**A Bother**

"Come on, you promised to teach me how to twirl your Bo today, Donnie!"

Donatello sighed, looking up from his blueprints and tools. He had been working on a new gadget, although he wasn't sure what it would do or what it was going to be for. But he didn't want to be bothered, and he didn't want to stop working on his project, since he had been working on it for hours.

"Crystal, I can't. I'm busy." he said flatly, letting his eyes glance at her once before returning his gaze back to his work.

The seven year-old stood there for a moment, not really sure if she should keep on or not. She was wearing a light pink t-shirt and blue shorts and her light blonde hair in a short ponytail. She watched as the purple-masked turtle sat there, picking up a screwdriver and screwing n a screw. Maybe she should leave him alone? Well… But she went against her better judgment and tried her luck again.

"But, Donnie-," she began hopefully.

"Crystal I'm busy! Go bother someone else." he didn't actually snap at her, but there was something in his voice that told her that she was about to cross the line. He didn't want to sound harsh, but he really wanted to get this project done, and he didn't want somebody distracting him from it. Besides, Mikey already was around earlier bothering him about his new invention. He was still in a pretty bad mood from it.

She flinched slightly at his words, her head shrinking into her shoulders. Go bother someone else? _Bother_? That was a little harsh, wasn't it? What was his problem? She wanted to ask him what was wrong, but she could see that his shoulders were tensed up. She sighed quietly, looking down at her white shoes and nodding.

"Okay, see ya…" she mumbled. She turned around on her heel slowly and walked out of his lab. She reacted calmly, but she was a little disappointed about him not keeping his promise. It wasn't fair! He had promised to teach her how to use his staff today, but he was just too busy with working on his gadget. And he didn't even know what it was! What was the point of that? And not to mention how he had spoken to her. He usually never talked to anybody like that unless he was really bothered by something. He could've said "Can you please leave me alone? I need some time to work on this" or "I'll teach you right after I finish with this", but no, he had to say "Go bother someone else". But she guessed that it was nothing to fuss over about. He'd perk up later.

Crystal had gotten quite bigger after three years. She wasn't very tall yet, but she was still full of spunk and had a lively personality, and loved to voice her own opinions. At least when the time was right. She kind of had all of the turtles' personalities, because she hung out with all of them every day. She was practically their sister. Normally, she would've been fine with watching Donnie work on projects like he usually did. She loved to watch him work, it was fascinating and neat how he could put random things together and create something completely different. But today she wanted to do something instead of watching, but apparently Donnie wanted to work on his own personally project instead of teaching her something she was interested in.

_Oh well… maybe I can play video games with Mikey! _She smiled and skipped towards the living room. As she skipped down the sewers, she bumped into a very tall character. She looked up in curiosity at who she had run into. Splinter gazed down at her with a warm smile and curious orange-brown eyes, his hands clasped behind his back. She might have grown up in the years, but she was nowhere even close to his height. He towered over her, so she had to bend her neck back to look up at his face. Even he had to tilt his head down and almost lean forward to see her so directly below his soft gaze.

"Young Crystal, good afternoon." he greeted calmly, a smile on his face.

She smiled happily back up at him, putting her hands behind her back innocently. "Good afternoon, Sensei! Have you seen Mikey?" Even though his real name was Hamato Yoshi, she called him Sensei just as the ninja turtles did. He had been like a father to her, just as he had been with the boys. And he loved him just like so as if he was her real father.

He nodded. "I believe he is in the living room, young one. But I thought that you were going to be practicing with Donatello?"

She shrugged, smiling crookedly. She really didn't want to talk about what had happened in his room, but she put on a small act of rocking back and forth on her heels. "Ah, he's busy working on a new gadget. So I'm gonna hang out with Mikey until he gets done!"

The large mutant rat hummed softly to himself in thought, but then smiled at her with his calm eyes. He knew how Donatello could get whenever he had been struck by a new idea for an invention, or at least was in the middle of one. He probably didn't want to be bothered. "I see. Carry on with what you were doing."

"Yes, Sensei!" she chirped cheerfully as she skipped past him. He watched her go, smiling and chuckling at her such happy behavior. Since the boys were older now, it made him happier to have a younger one around to look after. He knew that his sons were growing up, and soon they would be more independent, so having Crystal around made him know that he was still going to be needed for a long time to come.

As suspected, Michelangelo was sitting on the floor in front of the TV playing a fighting game. He was leaning back and forth as if trying to make his character go the way he wanted, but he was being beat by a boss player on the game. Crystal grinned and hopped over to his side, leaning over and watching his player punching at the other but missing every time. Then the enemy character punched Mikey's character, and Mikey lost the game.

"Aw man! NO!" the orange-masked ninja whined, dropping the controller onto the floor beside a pizza box and pouting. He had been playing this game for two hours, and had finally reached the hundredth level where the boss lies. He lost the game, so he had to repeat the whole thing, from level one to one hundred.

"Hey, Mikey! Wanna play multiplayer?" Crystal asked cheerfully, bending down and leaning over his shoulder. He didn't look at her, and glared at the TV.

"Lemme beat this level, Crystal!" he said quickly, getting right back into the game and already making it to the third level.

Crystal's shoulders slumped slightly, and she looked at the screen as he continued to punch the buttons for attack and dodge and block. He looked like he was doing okay for a while, but he lost again, so he had to repeat everything. She huffed and turned around and walked out of the living room. Well, guess playing video games with Mikey wasn't an option either. That was so weird… Mikey always let her play games with him, and most of the time he'd even pause it to let her join in. But she guessed that maybe he was just so engulfed in trying to win the game that he was too busy to pay much attention to her. So she walked down the sewer for a little while, thinking to herself before suddenly smiling again, another idea coming to mind.

"Maybe Leo will teach me some of his fighting moves!" She grinned at the thought and then proceeded to skip along the sewers until she arrived at the entrance to the dojo. She heard some yelling and the sounds of something being hit. She peeked around the corner and watched with interest and amazement as Leo kicked the training dummy across the room, making it smack against the far wall with a loud thud. Leo was panting, probably had been training, or exercising, for a good while now. But he didn't stop, and he walked over to the dummy, picked it up, and threw it back the middle of the room. Then he continued his attacks with his swords, kicks, and punches.

"Whoa…" Crystal grinned, watching the dummy as it was being pummeled by the blue-masked ninja turtle. Splinter was sitting on a mat nearby, and he nodded in approval at his son.

"Excellent job, my son. Remember, focus, and strike." he said with a calm voice and a smile.

"Yes, Sensei," Leo replied, bowing slightly, and continued on. He began to punch the dummy again. He looked like he was enjoying his daily activity, so she thought that maybe he might have some time to teach her some of his favorite moves. But hopefully he wouldn't be 'busy' like the other two brothers.

"Hey, Leo!" she said, walking into the dojo with a big smile on her face.

He grabbed the dummy to keep it from swaying back and forth and let his blue eyes fall on her and smiled warmly. "Hey, Sis! What's up?"

She sighed silently in relief that he was actually willing to let her speak without being distracted by something. But just in case, she decided to get to the point quickly, straight off the bat. "Not much. Can you teach me some fighting moves? Please?"

He blinked at her, not quite catching her question since she had asked it so fast. When he had finally replayed and listened to her request again, he smiled warmly, tiredly from having been working out and training. Crystal had this every so hopeful look in her eyes, and her hands behind her back and her feet put together. He glanced at Splinter for a moment, but then back at her. But as she looked at him, she could see a few emotions flicker back and forth, and she braced herself for what he was about to say.

"Well… Crystal, I think you need to grow up a little before you learn to start fighting. I'll teach you in a year or two." As he spoke, he had a soft and sympathetic look in his eyes, but a small smile on his face as he gazed down at her. Crystal felt her heart drop and she sighed. She should've known better than to hope for him to teach her. Nobody else wanted her around either.

"Oh… okay then… See ya…" she said, trying to smile at him, but only managing to curve up one side of her mouth.

He wondered what was wrong with her. She was normally a happy kid, and was hardly ever upset about something. But something seemed to be bothering her, even though she seemed to hide it. As she walked away, he could see that her shoulders were slumped a little and her head tilted forward as she looked at the ground. But he shook his head. He'd seen her look like that whenever she was tired, so he didn't pay any mind to it and went back to punching the dummy.

Crystal paused at the doorway to look back at him one more time before she sighed and disappeared out the doorway. Splinter studied her for a moment, and it was clear to him that something was bothering her. Wasn't she just with Mikey? Had she already grown bored of playing games? Surely not. She seemed unsettled, depressed maybe. He narrowed his eyes softly, hoping that something was wrong. He'd talk to her about it when she settled back down somewhere.

She swung her feet as she walked down the sewer line. Donnie didn't want her around, Mikey wasn't paying attention to anything going on around him, and Leo wasn't willing to teach her how to fight because she was 'too young'. She wasn't exactly mad, so to say, but she was a little bothered by the fact that nobody wanted her around. Maybe 'not wanted' was a little too much to say. Too busy was probably more suited to describe it.

_Raph always has time for me! Maybe I can talk to him about it. _

It was true. Even as busy as he had ever been, he always found a time to pause what he was doing to talk to her. In the middle of training, he'd stop to see what was bothering her. With that heart-lifting thought, she walked down the line and found her brother, Raph's, room. But even as she approached the doorway, she could hear snores coming from the room. She felt her heart drop in her chest again, but she entered the room anyway. She found him lying on the bed sprawled out, sleeping and snoring loudly. Her shoulders slumped more, a saddened expression on her face now. Well… maybe she wouldn't get the chance to talk to him.

"Raph?" she said in a tiny voice. Maybe he would wake up. But he didn't budge. She could've guessed that he was tired. He was having nightmares the night before, so he had lost some sleep because of it. But she was hoping that he'd at least wake up to listen to her.

"Raph? Please wake up…" she pleaded softly, shaking his shoulder roughly.

He groaned, waving her hands away and rolling over. "Later, Crystal…"

"But…I…" Again, another person who didn't want to be bothered. But she really needed him at that moment. She felt alone, she felt like nobody really wanted her around. But she couldn't blame Raph for being so tired. Maybe she couldn't blame anybody. Maybe she was… just a bother, like Donnie had said. She cringed at his words that echoed in her head as she sat on the bed. Mikey probably hadn't meant anything, but still, it kind of hurt her that he was too much into the game than to talk to her. And Leo… What was he talking about? He and the other three turtles had trained to be ninjas ever since they were kids! But why did he say that she was too young?

So she left the room, and went to sitting on the side of the sewer lines by herself. She hugged her knees to her chest, looking at her reflection. Her reflection was swirly from the water falling from drainage pipes, and she sighed as she gazed at her appearance in the filthy water. What was with everybody? It was like they were… tired of having her around, like she was just a pet… That's how she thought of it. Maybe she was like a pet that wandered around the sewers with them, not really having a purpose besides asking for attention or being fed. She was depressed at the thought. Too bad April wasn't there. She'd talk to her for sure. That is… if she wasn't with Donnie.

Then it hit her. Donnie wouldn't have acted like that if April was around. Crystal knew that Donnie had a crush on April, and knew how he acted around her. If April was there, he wouldn't be paying attention to Crystal or his project, he'd be talking to April. Mikey would probably still be paying more attention to the game than April, but at least the woman had a better way of getting his attention, the same with Leo. But April was learning to be a ninja, so of course he'd let her train with him! So… why was Crystal any different?

She sighed, wishing that she was older. Then she'd probably be able to do more. April had her own home and everything, she wasn't forced to live with the ninjas. Not that it was a bad thing to live with them, she loved them, but… being the only girl can take its toll. Especially if the girl was a young child like she was.

"Maybe they don't care about me much anymore…" she mumbled, closing her eyes for a moment. Maybe she was more like a discarded item, something that they didn't really think about anymore. After all, she'd been with them already for three years, so they were probably used to the fact that she was around, and didn't think about it. But suddenly she was hit with an idea. It was a crazy, wild, and probably dangerous and stupid idea. What if she ran away? What if she left the sewers and went above and tried it out up there? Would people pay attention to her? Would the turtles miss her? Would they notice that she was gone?

Maybe she'd be better off… So she sighed, and looked up. There was a ladder behind her, and a sewer lid above her where people came down and checked the sewers sometimes. Maybe she would try it out… Yes. That's what she would do. She would leave, and maybe she wouldn't be a bother to the others. But she wasn't going to just up and leave. She would have to wait until the time was right. Splinter could stay up quite late, and get up early in the morning still. The boys would get up early, a little after Splinter to meet up with him at morning training.

So as she made up her mind, she got up and went back to Raph's room. Her mind swirled with things that could go wrong with this plan, but also with things she could benefit from it. When she entered the room, she looked at him, seeing that he was still sleeping. She decided that maybe she would just leave him be. There was no need to wake him up, especially since he would probably stay up later than the others because of the nap. But she did go over to him, kissed his head and pulled the blanket over him. He didn't move, only snored a little louder before he quieted down. Then she curled up beside him, and fell asleep.

Later that day, it was already dark outside. It was quiet in the sewers, meaning that everybody was asleep. Crystal woke up earlier, but she waited until nightfall before stirring. She got up out of the bed, making sure that Raph was asleep still before she looked around one last time before she spotted his Sais on the bedside table. She eyed them for a long while, considering taking them. But she chose to take only one, so she stuck it on her belt loop. Then she went to the doorway. She looked left to right, making sure that no noise came from either way and that nobody was stirring. All was silent, so she crept out of the room and hurried down the hallway. She made sure not to slip into the water or even step in it in fear of waking someone. She ran a long ways, looking for a suitable opening until she came to one that she knew was under a streetlight near an alley.

She studied the ladder, almost afraid to climb it. She was afraid to be alone in the sewers, especially since they were deep and dark. She was afraid of leaving the place she was most familiar with, her home. What would she find up there? What kinds of people were up there? She imagined some creepy images, but shook them away. Before she had a chance to rethink her decision, she made herself climb. She forced herself to reach the top of the ladder and push with all of her might until she was able to lift the lid up and push it to the side. She stopped herself, and then looked down. Tears filled her eyes, and she choked quietly. What was she going to do when she finally got out of here? Where would she go? Guess she'll have to find out later.

"Goodbye… I love you…" she whispered. Then she exited the sewers, peeking over the opening to make sure nobody or nothing was around. Seeing that it was clear, she emerged and put the lid back on the hole.

She hated having to leave the ninja turtles and Splinter. She really didn't want to, but she didn't want 'to be a bother' to them anymore. She looked around at her surroundings, and was amazed by them. She hadn't been outside the sewers in years, and it was amazing of how much things had probably changed. The only source of light was the few streetlights around her and some light coming through windows. Remembering her goal, if she even had a goal, she started walking down the alley.

"Sis?" Raph moaned, yawning as he opened his eyes. He looked around groggily, but his eyes snapped open in realization and he frowned. "Crystal, where are you?" He sat up, not feeling her at his side on the bed or hearing her in the room. He jumped out of the bed and hurried out of the room. "Crystal? Crystal!"

He practically ran down the sewers, entering the living room where he thought, or more likely hoped, that she'd be sleeping or watching TV. But instead he found his youngest brother Mikey snoring away with his head rested on his arms on the arm of the sofa.

"Crystal!" the red-masked ninja shouted as he looked around, causing Mikey to yelp and fall off the couch.

"Dude… what's wrong?" he asked sleepily, rubbing his head.

Raph had a worried expression. "She's gone! Crystal's not here!"

"I sense something is wrong." Splinter had heard him yelling, and came to investigate. Hearing Raph's cries confirmed his thoughts of what was going on, and he sensed that Crystal was not in the sewers anymore. He wore a frown, a worried frown, and he turned his gaze to the other two turtles as they came out of their rooms with worried expressions. She must had left for some reason.

"Then we need to go find her!" Raph snapped, glaring at him but not in an aggressive way. There was panic in his eyes, and his hands were clenched into fists.

"Then go. I will stay here in case she comes back." Splinter ushered, watching as the four brothers had already disappeared into the darkness. He stared into the blackness, his heart clenched in the jaws of fear and dread, hope trying to fight it back. "Please don't let anything happen to her…"

Crystal was walking down the alley, feeling a little cold and a little scared of her surroundings. She looked around at the trash cans and dumpsters, spotting a few rats every now and then. She shuddered, and hugged herself. She had been walking for about ten minutes, and had actually gotten quite far from the place she had come up from the sewers. Now she was deeper in the alley, and hadn't seen a soul for a while.

Why did she leave that place? It was cold and dark out here, nobody was around and it was downright creepy and too quiet. It was probably a bad idea to have left, and now she was considering going back.

That was, until she heard footsteps behind her. She glanced over her shoulder, but didn't see anybody. She shrugged, thinking that she had probably imagined it. She kept walking, but then heard the footsteps again. This time she spun around, and saw a shadow disappear behind a corner.

"Hello?" she called out, a little nervous and her voice shaking.

Nothing, but a figure stepped out of the shadows. He was tall, a little thin with a brown jacket and dark jeans. She put her hand on the Sai on her belt loop, grabbing the handle.

"Nah-uh! Do that, and you'll regret it, kid." The mad said it in a low tone, like he was trying to hide his voice. When he came closer, she saw that he was wearing a sock mask over his head so that only his eyes and mouth showed.

"Yeah, it wouldn't be very good for a little girl like you." Another voice broke through the darkness, and she spun around, now jerking the Sai out of her belt loop and holding it out in a defensive position.

"Interesting knife, kid… Where'd ya get it?" another asked out of nowhere. Her eyes darted back and forth, trying to look at both of them men at the same time. But before she knew it, three more showed up, filling all the gaps between the two men and the sides so that they were surrounding her. She felt vulnerable, and she whimpered, taking a step back although she actually came closer to one of the men. He reached a hand out to grab her, but she jumped away from him.

Suddenly one lunged to catch her. But she ducked and ran under him, leaving him to land on the ground with a thud. She darted through the open space he had left, and sprinted as fast as she could down the dark and cold alley. She clutched the Sai in her little hand, hoping that she wouldn't drop it, but hoping more that the men didn't catch her. She kept running, her heart racing and her breath quickening. She glanced over her shoulder, but they were still right behind her.

She turned a corner, and ran for a good ways before she skidded to a stop, almost falling backwards. She looked up at the brick wall in front of her. A dead end. It was at least five stories, an apartment. She started to panic, and she turned around to check the situation at the moment. She saw three men running down the alley, but the other two were gone. She thought quickly, and looked at the dumpster beside her. Not really knowing what she was thinking, she climbed on top of it, and jumped up to the ladder above it. She began to climb the steps, panting and feeling her legs shaking with an adrenaline rush and fear.

She then came close to the top of the roof, and she pulled herself up. She then ran over the rooftop, trying to keep her balance. She looked behind her again, and then time four men were after her. From what she could see, they all looked alike in the moonlight, and it frightened her. She wished she knew what they wanted. Now she really wished that she hadn't had left the sewers.

One of the shingles in the roof came look under her foot, and she screamed as she fell over. She rolled off the side of the roof, and she could see the ground way below her. But a force pulled her back up. There was a short silence as she stared down at the ground way at the bottom. Because it had saved her, she had hoped that it was a good person, but she cried out when she saw that it was the fifth man of the group, holding her up by the back of her shirt like an animal.

"What'd ya want from me?!" she grunted, trying to free herself from his grasp.

He didn't say a word, and grabbed the Sai from her hand.

"Hey! That's Raph's! Give it back!" she snapped, kicking out her legs. The man chewed over her words for a moment, and she swung her arms, but he was incredibly large compared to her, so he had no trouble controlling her. The man had his mask on still, all of them did. The other four stood behind him, and he studied the Sai in his hand. His eyes were a light brown, and his skin was dark, probably African American. She gave up on trying to get away, and she went limp in his grasp, looking almost like a kitten in its mother's jaws.

"Put out little sister down."

Crystal's eyes shot up and she gasped. Leonardo, Raphael, Donatello, and Michelangelo stood together, looking at the men with angry looks in their eyes. Actually, with the way they were standing, it looked like there was no color in their eyes at all, they were blank in the mode of the fight. The man turned around to face them, causing Crystal to swing back and forth in his hands, and the other men rallied behind their leader. There was a short silence, and nobody did anything until the man lifted Crystal in his arm.

"You want her? Catch. She's no use after all." he said in a dark voice, and then he held her out over the edge of the roof. She gasped and struggled in his grip. She clung to his arm with her hands.

The turtles all flinched at his statement. Before the man could drop her, because he gripped her by the shirt, she twisted around and gripped his wrist. She then bite down on his skin. He let out a sharp cry of surprise and pain before swinging his arm and sending her rolling across the rooftop.

That's when the ninjas made their move. Raph, Mikey, and Donnie all charged the men, and they engaged in the fight. Leo sprinted the other way, running down the steep rooftop as Crystal slid down it. Before she went over the side, he reached out his hand and grabbed her arm, pulling her back and bringing her close to him.

"Leo!" Crystal cried out, hugging him. He hugged her back, but quickly started running back up the roof.

"Crystal, what were you THINKING? You could've got yourself hurt!"

"Leo, now's not the time for lectures!" Raph snapped, kicking one of the men in the gut and sending him staggering off the edge of the rooftop.

Only a few minutes later, the turtles had taken care of the robbers. The men had all been either knocked off the rooftop or were on the roof knocked out. Turns out that they saw the Sai Crystal had been carrying, and had wanted to steal it to sell it. But when the turtles came, they decided to not finish their plan. They pretty much had no choice.

Raph carried Crystal in his arms as they walked along the rooftops, the other brothers at both his sides and walking at the same pace. He was very relieved to know that she was alright, and he never loosened his grip on her. It had been a very long and cold silence, and Crystal closed her eyes, feeling very tired and very guilty for what all had happened. When they got back to the sewers, Splinter greeted them with sheer relief that Crystal was okay. When Leo explained what all had happened, he suddenly became serious, and ushered them to sit on the sofa for a very important lecture. As they sat down, Crystal had already fallen asleep in Raph's lap.

"My sons, I believe we are all guilty for what has happened tonight."

"But how, Sensei?" Leo interrupted, but silenced when he received a soft glare.

"Lately, you have been very… consumed in your own hobbies and projects, so engulfed that you have not considered that maybe Crystal felt as though she was being left out."

"But, Sensei, she could have just asked us." Mikey said quietly.

Splinter sighed heavily, letting his brown-orange eyes fall on the girl in Raph's lap. "Just because she does not ask if she can join you, doesn't mean that it is alright to ignore her. I have noticed, that she left your room first, Donatello."

Donnie suddenly shrunk in his spot. The way he had spoken to her came to mind, and he felt guilt eating at his heart for it. Why he had so rudely spoken to her was something he did not quite understand. He had never spoken to her like that before, so it was odd to think that he was the one who had probably upset her in the first place.

"Then, when I had met her this early afternoon, she said that she was going to visit you, Michelangelo."

Mikey looked down at his feet, remembering how he had been too focused on the game that he did not let her play or he even talk to her much at all. He felt horrible for ignoring her like the way he did. How could he ever ignore her? He always talked to her; always put her before his games. It was so crazy to think that he had done what he did, to ignore her like that.

"And Leo, I understand you were concerned about her safety during training, but I believe that it is time that she learns how to defend herself, and fight on her own. It is about that time, and you, my sons, learned to do so when you were younger in fact. Our young Crystal is not so young, at least not as young as she was when we found her. She is growing up, and she needs us more than ever."

"Yes, Sensei." Leo replied, nodding.

"You mean that I can learn to be a ninja?"

They all looked down at the little girl, who had suddenly woken up. She yawned sitting up and rubbing her eyes. She looked up at Splinter with curious eyes and a sleepy look on her face. The mutant rat smiled warmly down at her, and nodded.

"You may train with your brothers, and in time, you will learn what they, and I, know."

"So it's not my fault that any of this happened?" Raph said quickly, and everybody gave him an odd look. He huffed. "What? I was asleep. I didn't have anything to do with it."

"So," Crystal looked up at Splinter. "How is any of this your fault?"

"Excuse me?" he said a little confused.

She tilted her head, frowning slightly. "You said that 'We are all guilty for what happened tonight'. You said 'all'. That means you were responsible, too, right?"

He sighed, clasping his hands behind his back and nodding at her. "I did not notice any of this beforehand, and could not prevent anything from happening. If I had seen the situation clearer, then I could have spoken to you and the boys about this sooner before any of what had happened tonight could have taken place."

Crystal just sat there, a little dazed and still sleepy from her nap and lack of sleep. Splinter saw that all of the turtles were in no condition to listen to any of his rambling. He smiled softly despite himself. He knew that they were all tired, and Crystal's little runaway act really made them much more so since it had been in the middle of the night. He was just very glad to know that she was alright, and that the ninja turtles took care of it even in this condition.

"Alright. Time for sleep. Tomorrow will be… the day off." he said after a while of thought, and watched as they all smiled tiredly and nodded.

"Yes, Sensei," all four turtles confirmed.

Splinter put a hand on Crystal's head, smiling at her as she gazed up at him with sleepy blue eyes. Then he left the living room to go to his own room to sleep. The boys didn't even bother with going to their own rooms. They were all simply so exhausted that they decided to sleep on the couch for the rest of the night. But before they did, they discussed about everything that had happened. Donnie promised again to teach her how to use his Bo, which he intended to keep. Mikey was going to pay more attention to her more, and less to his games. Leo promised that he'd teach her to fight sometime in the future when everything had settled. And Raph… he mainly just hoped that he could sleep well at night so he could watch her during the day.

Raph sat in the middle leaned against the back of the couch with Crystal under his arm at his side curled up. Leo leaned against Raph's shoulder, but he wasn't leaning enough to squish Crystal between them. Mikey sat on the other side of Raph, leaning against his older brother's shoulder with Donnie leaning over the arm of the couch. They had all fallen asleep in an instant.

As they all fell asleep, Crystal opened her eyes and replayed Splinter's words in her mind. _She is growing up, and she needs us more than ever. _She knew that she was growing up, but she wished that she didn't have to. She didn't want to be independent. She was afraid of leaving her family, of not needing them anymore. What would happen when she grew older? When she knew how to defend herself, and fight…When she didn't need anybody to teach her anymore… What would happen then? Where would she go? What would she do?

Hopefully she wouldn't end up like what happened tonight.

**I got a little lazy and didn't want to write out the whole fight… but if I get enough reviews or whatever, I'll consider adding more. This was mainly just a lazy story to pass the time. I really didn't know what to name it either... Hope you like it anyway.**


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